One of Us
by komodithrax
Summary: The sequel to loss. Continue on following 19 year old Lexy and struggle to find a new home after her family's death. Follow her in her adventure in becoming an agent finding a place in the B.P.R.D. and among her friends.
1. Chapter 1

A week had passed quickly with little recovery for Lexy. She had begun eating again (which she had refused the whole first day) though she didn't take in much.  
She had started speaking more and seemed more conscious than before even going so far as a ghost of a smile passing her features. Though the doctor said she still hadn't accepted things as they were.

The three agents had taken her on a tour of the base (which Manning had thrown a tantrum about) and introduced her to some of the more kindly agents. Lexy was quiet for the most part unless she was spoken to directly to which she would respond politely but with few words. She spent most of her time with Abe or rather vise-versa. He often brought her to the library where they would read for long hours, or listen to some of his favorite classical music until she would say she was tired and he would take her back to her room, still unsure she would be able to navigate headquarters in her state.

This night was no different. At around seven thirty she had closed the book she was reading, went and put it back in it's place on the bookshelf and looked to Abe.  
He recognized the motion and before she could say herself he spoke.  
"Ready for bed?"

She nodded, he marked the place in the four books he was reading and lead her to her room.  
Immediately she went to sit on the edge of the bed, it had become more habit than impulse. He would lead her to her room, she'd sit and either he bid her goodnight or he tried getting her to really talk.

This time he went back to the door. "I'll be right back." He said before closing it behind him.

A few minutes later he returned carrying a tray of food and set on the bedside table before sitting next to her. He did this for every meal to make sure she was really eating.

She looked at it, a chicken cutlet, mash potatoes and gravy and a large glass of milk, she shook her head.

"Lexy you haven't eaten anything since breakfast and you barely ate then. You need to eat something." He tried to prompt her.

"I'm not hungry." She said quietly before turning her eyes to the floor almost ashamed.

Abe new there was something wrong but he still couldn't sense her thoughts or emotions. "Lexy please, I want to help but you need to tell me whats wrong first." He gently cajoled.

She glanced up at him then looked back down. "I'm vegan." She answered so quietly Abe had to strain to here her.

He stared at her for a long moment. Vegan, so she didn't eat meat, dairy, seafood or eggs. Well that explained why there was always leftovers from her meals. She'd only been eating the plant based foods for the entire week. Abe felt the weight of such an obvious answer weigh over him and felt guilty and embarrassed that he hadn't figured it out sooner, along with shame, worry and frustration. He was about to ask her why she never told him then realized she'd been in no condition for idle chatter. Neither had any of them asked what she liked to eat and just assumed she ate what everyone else did. He wanted to smack himself, he usually relied on his ability to read people, but couldn't with Lexy.

He looked back at her, she was still staring at the floor with a looked almost ashamed at herself.  
Abe reached and took her hand. "Lexy, I'm sorry. We should have asked what you liked to eat. I'll be back as soon as I can." He stood and left, taking the tray of food and milk with him.

He returned sometime later with a new tray of steaming vegetables, fruit salad and a glass of water.  
"Do you like steamed vegetables and fruit?" He offered her the tray.

She nodded, gently taking it, too his great relief.

"Now please eat." He sat back down next to her.

She did eat. Starting with the steaming cauliflower and broccoli before finishing it and moving to the fruit salad. Here she paused.  
"Mom made fruit salad like this."

Abe had nearly leaped in surprise from the sudden words, but he didn't want to startle her so he swallowed down his excitement and simply asked,  
"Did she?"

Lexy nodded. "The way she cut the fruit, always in little cubes."

She seemed like she might stop so Abe pressed for more. "And was your mother vegan too?"

She shook her head. "Just me and dad. Mom and Brandon always said I was his little shadow, I followed and copied everything he did." She smiled at this, then her smile faded and her eyes welled up. "They're really gone aren't they, forever I mean."

It wasn't a question but Abe swallowed hard and nodded solemnly. Then suddenly he felt whatever it was keeping her mind from his melt away and was flooded with memories and emotions. Her family life, her last conversation with them, then her running and seeing them dead and torn apart.  
Large tears began streaming down her face. He could feel everything she felt, the pain, grief, loss, the aching misery of being so completely alone, and the fear of not knowing what was going to happen to her.  
Abe took the tray from her and gently wrapped her in his arms. She turned and sobbed into his chest.  
Finally, he thought, she was beginning to fully comprehend everything.  
She cried long into the night until she'd passed out in his arms. He tucked her in and headed back to his own tank.

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The next week and a half Lexy spent mostly in her room, crying often, anything that remotely reminded her of her family sent her into a bout of tears. The others did what they could to comfort her but knew she needed to grieve before she could move on. She was almost never left alone, either with Hellboy, Liz or Abe, the latter who she spent the most time with.

It was on the fourteenth day that she hadn't cried at all and the question was brought up about what to do with her.  
It was Abe who had asked the professor in private, away from Manning, as he feared Lexy would be sent off alone into the world. He'd become fond of her, they all had, and felt somewhat responsible for her current situation. If he hadn't asked for Lexy's help back in Seattle this entire situation might've been avoided.

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They were sitting in the study on an early Thursday morning discussing the situation.  
"What can we do for her professor? She has no where to go."

Broom looked to Abe. "Are you sure there is no one? Not even close friends of the family?"

Abe shook his head sadly and set down a beige file containing information about the Tanner family. "Both of her parents were single children and their parents had passed away long ago, as for close friends many of their neighbors didn't even know them by name. Her family didn't know too many people, they weren't very social. She has no one."

The professor nodded sadly. "I understand your concern, it's neither my wish to send her away so unprepared and after such a tragedy. But as you know we don't foster civilians, despite their unfortunate circumstances and though we may want too."

Abe nodded understandably. "I know, but..." He paused wondering if it was really a good idea. "I had a thought."

Broom nodded him to continue.

"What if...what if Lexy became an agent?" Before the professor could comment Abe continued. "I can understand your doubt but Lexy has a true heart and she's very principled. When she heard that the Mngwa was loose in the city she was so worried for the other civilians and offered to help in navigating around the city."

Professor broom sighed deeply and Abe sensed he was still doubting his idea.

"She's no weakling either. She could scale the buildings like no other I've seen and she even beat Hellboy to the Mngwa from twice the distance." He knew keeping up with Hellboy was a feat in it's own hoped it would help sway the professor's decision.

"And are you sure your not just saying these things because you are concerned for her?" Broom asked seriously.

Abe shook his head stubbornly. "No, I truly believe she can do it. Not to mention that we're always short on agents that are willing to work with us and Hellboy. If I didn't mean any of this then I'd be putting her into more harm. She's strong."

The professor stared long into the crackling flames alight in the fireplace and thought hard about Abe's words. Many of the things he said were true. Agents willing to work directly with Hellboy, Abe or even Liz were scarce if any. Not to mention those who were, were in it simply for the money or they were eager to exploit the bureau's secrets.  
If everything he said was true Lexy could be an asset to the bureau, not to mention with the lack of any outside connections making her disappear would be all that easier. But there were risks, plenty including security risks, and her own safety. Their job was not an easy one, especially the field agents. They dealt with things the average person couldn't comprehend and death was just an everyday thing. She would have to become a very strong person, even more so than Abe thought she was, to handle it.

He finally sighed and turned back to the other. "You truly think she can handle such a life?" He asked seriously.

Abe remained firm and nodded. "I believe she can. I think she needs this place, and we could really someone like her."

"I trust your judgment Abe, alright then, you may ask her. If she accepts then she will start her training next month. But Abraham you will be in charge of her studies and every month you will give me a report on her progress. If she can't keep up then I'll have no choice but to send her off. I don't like it an more than you do but what we do is perilous and like you said it would be putting her in harms way."

Abe nodded, he knew that he would hold responsibility for her if it was a go, in a way he was rather glad about it. She'd saved his life and now he was returning the favor.  
"I understand professor and I know she'll become a great agent." Without another word Abe hopped up and went to talk to Lexy about it.

When the door had closed behind him Broom took out his tarot cards. He already knew the past and placed two down, one for the present and the future. The present, 'Death', meaning ending, closing one door to open another, ending a chapter in one's life. The future, 'Strength', having heart despite setbacks, knowing one can endure.  
He raised an eyebrow. She had potential just as Abe had said. Perhaps she could make it to field agent status after all.

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Abe's Pov

Abe knocked on Lexy's door sensing she was awake.

"Come in." Her voice came soft.

He entered and found her sitting on her bed. Not like before, but cross legged and comfortable. Her things had been shipped over from Seattle, some of it went straight to her like clothes and some books while the rest was currently stored in a warehouse nearby.

She was reading right now, a red book with no real title on the cover.  
"Hey Abe," She greeted him with a smile. "What's up?"

Since she had been grieving for her family she had returned to her normal self, or as close to normal as she could be. Her eyes were bright and she expressed much more emotion to others, though he could sense she was still a bit guarded, which he could understand.  
He took a seat next to her and read a few lines from her book.  
"What's this?" He asked after not recognizing any of it.

"Daughter of Venice by Donna Jo Napoli." She showed him the full cover which was missing the title but had a beautiful painting of a young Italian women in a Renaissance dress overlooking a river filled with gondolas.

"What's it about?" He sensed that she was feeling content but mentally stimulated by the book.

"It's a about a young noble woman named Donata who lives in 1592 Venice. She's coming of age and goes against living the life of a noble woman and becoming a scholar to help her family."

"Sounds very interesting."

She nodded. "It really is." And she smiled a genuine smile.

He was glad to see her smile, but knew he had to get down to business. "And how are you feeling today?"

Her smiled faltered for moment. "I'm...okay I guess."

Abe nodded understandingly and gently placed his hand on hers and felt her emotions and memories flow through his mind. She was still thinking a lot about her family but took comfort in his presence, which he was grateful for.  
"I understand how you feel."

And she knew he did. He'd explained about how he could read people's emotions and memories. He'd expected her to be angry but she was very understanding and actually was rather soothed by the fact that she didn't need words to communicate how she felt to him.

"Lexy, there's something important I have to ask you, about what's going to happen to you." He paused and felt her fear build a little. She was afraid of facing the world alone without anyone by her side. But she nodded for him to ask his question.  
"Professor Broom and I have been discussing your situation and after much thought, well what if you had the chance to stay here, what if you could become an agent of B.P.R.D.?"

She stared at him for a long moment, wandering if she had heard him correctly. "Me become an agent?" She asked very confused.

He nodded. "Yes, you would be trained and eventually work here at the base. Like Clay or Hellboy or me or Liz." He hoped she liked how the idea sounded.

Lexy turned her eyes to the ground. "I..I don't know, I mean I've never had to make a decision like this before."

"I know, and you don't have to decide now. Take a couple days to really think it over."

"Okay...um okay, I will."

He gave her hand a gentle grip before standing. "I'll bring dinner in an hour." And he headed out.

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Abe expected her to take a few days to make her decision, but the next morning when he brought her breakfast Lexy was sitting upright on her bed a serious expression on her face.

At first he was worried because he couldn't sense anything from her.  
"Are you alright?"

She nodded. "I've made my decision, I want to become an agent." She said it so matter of factly and her face was set in pure determination, so much so that he almost didn't believe her.

"Are you sure Lexy?" He asked wanting to give her every opportunity to back out.

She nodded. "I'm sure Abe. I know I can do this." And that settled the matter.

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The others were soon notified that Lexy would become an agent and Abe decided to start her training in two weeks rather than the next month so she could have a head start.

He started her out with the basics of what the paranormal was, what different creatures, cultures, places, people, organizations and items that were considered paranormal and how they were defined into different categories.  
Next she began focusing on specific ancient paranormal cultures, then religions and cults, learning their beliefs, history and languages.

Hellboy took it upon himself to start training her in the more physical aspect of being an agent, tracking your enemy, shooting or traversing an unfamiliar area unseen. The first thing he taught her was how to take a punch, then how to take a bullet (in a bullet proof vest of course). Then weight training and martial arts. Now red was more of a just 'go in and punch em' sort of guy so Clay took over here. He was a master in multiple forms martial arts from around the world. Tai Chi, Aikido, Hapkido, judo, Jiu Jitsu and Krav Maga.  
One by one she learned them all.

The training was never easy and it became a normality for her to wake up in terrible pain from the day before and begin again with physical training in the morning with Hellboy and Clay, then long nights with Abe in the study with a new lesson. Often times she would fall asleep in the study in her books. But she was determined not to give up. Yes her family was gone, and she still grieved for them, but she knew her family wanted her to not only survive but thrive. To be able to live her life. So she refused to give in, to be beat and she practiced hard everyday.

She was already a practiced free-runner which made her physicality training that much easier. Target practice was never easy. She was used to using rifles and the standard issue light weight handguns made her hands shake and she felt like she was throwing around a child's toy.  
Hellboy had come up with an unorthodox solution.  
He ran to his room and returned in minutes with a large black handgun. He handed it to her with a simple 'try this kid'. The gun was heavy, she had to take it in two hands and it's weight steadied her arms. She aimed, fired and blew the target away with a single shot.  
Hellboy clapped her on the back. "Nice shot kid!"  
That was how the 'Jackal' became Lexy's first and favorite weapon, always at her side.

As for her studies, she was a fast leaner. The languages came easier to her than they would to most, her favorite became the ancient runes of the Celts which she learned backwards and forwards within a month.  
Abe was rather amazed at her ability to retain almost everything she read within the first or second reading, but was glad she was making excellent progress.  
Just as he promised Abe delivered a report every month to Professor Broom on what Lexy had learned, and tested on.  
He too was pleasingly astonished at her learning capabilities and her determination to do her very best. As her agency status grew closer he warmed up to her, eventually becoming a father figure to her and aiding her in her studies.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

* * *

After three long years the day finally came when now twenty-two year old Lexy would complete her final tests and become a full fledged field agent. She would be testing with a handful of officers from other government agencies who were looking to transfer over to the B.P.R.D.

The test would consist of three parts. First their marksmanship would be tested in the B.P.R.D.'s personal shooting range where not only their aim would be tested, but their ability to identify paranormal situations.  
The second test would involve them tracking down and keeping up with a paranormal entity, keeping within a specified radius for a specific amount of time.  
The third and last test would be a set crime scene where the agents would find a damaged relic and be asked to define it's culture, history and why it was tampered with. They then would try to figure out who exactly would want to tamper with it and identify their perp.

After all three tests were completed the agents would be evaluated and only three out of the twenty applying officers would make the cut, so Lexy knew she had to be at her very best to get noticed. What she didn't know was that Professor Broom had already chosen her to be a field agent and was only having her perform the tests as an initiation.

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The day of the first test came Lexy was in her room making sure she was absolutely prepared and going over her notes when there was a knock at the door.  
"Come in." She called.

Abe entered with a 'smile'. "It's time."

She nodded, her heart was pounding and her hands shook.

He must've sensed her nervousness because he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're going to do amazing. You're ready for this."

She nodded again and smiled nervously. "Right, okay. Let's go."

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Abe led her down the hall and through the complex to a room just outside the shooting range where the other officers and Professor Broom were waiting. Hellboy and Liz were waiting in the separate room.  
All three smiled at her.

"Well this is where I leave you." Abe said going to stand with the others.

"You're going to do great." Liz smiled and wished her luck.

"Yeah," Hellboy nodded. "Just remember everything I taught you."

Lexy smiled at her friends, well more family than friends now. "I'll try to do my very best."

"That's all anyone's asking." Abe nodded.

Lexy left the room and entered the shooting range where she went in stood in line with the other officers.  
Professor Broom smiled and shot her a wink before he began to speak.  
"Welcome everyone to the B.P.R.D. My name if Professor Trevor Broom and I'm chairman of this organization. You are all here because you are the best and brightest of your fields. Today you will all be tested to see which of the few of you will be chosen to join the B.P.R.D. and become official agents."  
He paused to allow the lights over the target range to turn on and a recreation of a city street to be illuminated. Manning went around and handed out a handgun to everyone.  
"Today your marksmanship will be tested along with your ability to recognize abnormal situations. Remember an agent must be able to analyze the situation before acting. These specialized guns fire a laser signal that we will use to track your score. When the buzzard rings you may begin."

The officers stepped up to the edge of the fake city and held their guns at the ready position. The buzzard rang and cutouts of figures popped up on the scene. Shots rang as all the officers began firing, all but Lexy, who was looking over all the fake figures until she identified her target and fired.

The buzzard rang again minutes later, the cutouts disappeared and the officers stopped firing.  
A large screen to the side displayed the officers and scores based on what they hit and the number of kills. Most of the officers had scores of thirty or above, excluding Lexy who had a grand total of three shots fired, three hits but no kills.

Manning went to the controls and brought up the targets from their housing.  
"Miss Tanner, would you care to explain why you thought shooting little Susie was a good idea?" He pointed to the cut out of a little girl with pig tails in a yellow shirt and blue skirt.

Lexy stepped forward. "Yes sir, because she was the only suspicious looking one in the situation."

"Explain." Manning ordered.

Lexy looked ahead at the rest of the cut outs that were all of different creatures, many looking like monsters. "Well sir the others don't seem dangerous."

Manning raised an eyebrow, he then pointed to a large green creature who's face was twisted in a grimace and it's mouth was open wide revealing many sharp teeth. "That doesn't seem dangerous to you?"

"At first he did, but then I saw that." She pointed to it's hand that was holding a crumpled piece of white paper. "And I realized he's just sneezing."

The second in command shook his head. "Oh, and what about that fellow there? Not even threatening?" He pointed to a brown slug looking monster with enormous arms but no legs hanging from a jungle gym.

Lexy shook her head. "No sir, he's wearing head and wrist bands, looks to me like he's just working out."

"And how among all these creatures how did you come to the conclusion that Susie was the only dangerous one here?"

"Well the first and most obvious, a little girl wandering around in a street full of creatures and she's not freaking out. Secondly the clock tower reads two AM, what's she doing out this late in the first place, and lastly she's carrying a quantum physics textbook. That's way to advanced for an eight year old girl. If you ask me sir, little Susie's about to start some trouble."

"Very well." Professor Broom nodded. "This will end the marksman portion of the test. Tomorrow will be your physical tracking and hunting test."

Many of the other officers snickered at Lexy and one even ruffled her hair saying 'better luck next time.' as he exited.

Lexy didn't follow the other officers out, instead heading to the other room.  
"How do you think I did?" She asked nervously as soon as she entered.

Hellboy went over and clasped her on the shoulders. "Kid you passed with flying colors."

"And you stood your ground, which was very bold of you. Sometimes you need to question your superior's choices." Abe added excited that she'd passed with a perfect score, but new he couldn't tell everything just yet.

Liz went and grabbed Lexy in a tight hug. "Believe me your going to pass top of the class. Now tomorrow's your tracking test so be prepared for some serious exercise."

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The morning soon came and Lexy was awake and wide eyed by five o'clock ready to go. Most of the other officers would be having their test later in the day, but hers was unique. At around seven in the morning Lexy was escorted out to an abandoned town where her test would take place. They arrived at ten and headed straight for a large parking complex.  
Broom, Liz, Hellboy and Abe were there and ready for her.

"Good morning Lexy, I trust you slept well?" Professor Broom asked with a smile.

"As well as I could. I won't lie, I'm pretty nervous." She smiled awkwardly.

The professor chuckled. "Humility is the sign of those truly prepared, though in this case you may want to hold a little more confidence in yourself. In this test you will be tracking and chasing a paranormal entity, namely Hellboy."

"Aww come on father, can't you give her a break?" Hellboy laughed jokingly.

Broom ignored his comment and continued. "He will have a head start of ten minutes then you will track him down. Once you're near him your locator will activate. You need to stay within ten yards of him for fifteen minutes. If your farther than that distance for more than ten seconds you will be ordered to stop and the test will start over again. This will go on until you have completed your fifteen minutes. Any questions?"

"No sir." Lexy shook her head.

"Alright, now Hellboy I trust you'll give Lexy a good run? I won't have any cheating on your part."

"Course' not. Lex, no offense, but your gonna be here all day." He goaded.

Lexy smiled smartly. "We'll see."

"Good. Now Hellboy you go off now. Your ten minutes begin now."

Hellboy turned and leaped from the third floor parking platform onto the building adjacent and headed off into the distance.

(Ten minutes later)

"Alright Lexy your test begins now."

Lexy ran and leaped from the platform just as Hellboy had and headed in the same direction as she'd last seen him go.  
It took her a good six minutes to get onto his trail, but after a few minutes she spotted a dirty boot print on one of the brick sides and knew she was headed in the right direction. There were other signs to, bits of crumbled wall or bent metal where his stone hand had grabbed and lifted himself up, or a trail of flattened grass where he'd abandon the rooftops for the ground bellow.

After another several minutes her locator beeped which meant he was within twenty yards of her position. That's when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and saw something dangle from the side of a building momentarily before pulling itself up and disappearing over the edge. Lexy took off at a sprint, in less than a minute her locator beeped again, but with Broom's voice.

"Your within ten yards. Your fifteen minutes start now." Then beeped off.

Lexy hit her locator button to start tracking her signal, at the same time she saw Hellboy leap from behind the wall and started running West trying to get distance, as his locator let him know how close she was.  
Lexy dashed after him determined not to let him get away. She chased over rooftops, through emptied buildings and down through alley ways and opened areas.

Ten of her fifteen minutes were up and she still had Hellboy in her sights. They were on the rooftops again, coming to the edge separating the current building from the next.  
Hellboy leaped and cleared the gap easily.  
Lexy wasn't to far behind, running and leaping she nearly missed the edge but managed to grab hold and dangled there. She heard Hellboy's loud footsteps stop.

"You okay kid?" She heard his concerned voice.

"Fine, keep going!" She ordered not willing to let him help. She had to do this on her own. She heard his footsteps start up again heading away.

After a moment she managed to pull herself up onto the roof and paused to catch her breathe. Suddenly her locator beeped.

"Your no longer within ten yards of Hellboy." Came Broom's voice. "You have ten seconds to catch up him starting now or you'll have to repeat the test."

Lexy jumped to her feet and hurried off, only ten seconds. Ten seconds and she'd have to repeat the whole thing. She could still make out Hellboy's figure in the distance and she leaped down to the level below the roof. The inside of the warehouse was empty and free of any obstacles allowing her to run the straight distance that Hellboy would have to par-core.  
She jumped through a broken window onto the landing on the next building.

"Five seconds." Came the professor's voice.

She climbed upwards to the top of the building, caught sight of Hellboy directly in front and took off as fast as she could all the while counting the seconds in her head. Five. Four. Three.

"Good work Lexy, you have five minutes left to go."

She mentally released a breathe. Good she was back within ten yards. Hellboy still didn't show any signs of slowing down, but the rooftops ahead looked clear of most obstacles.

And just as she expected the run ahead was relatively smooth, and soon after both their locators let out a loud beep and they both stopped.

"Congratulations Lexy." Came professor Broom's upbeat voice. "You and Hellboy can come back now."

Hellboy was already at her side. He put one arm around her shoulders and used his stone hand to ruffle her hair. "You did kid! Come on let's get something to eat."

The 'walk' back was easy compared to acrobatics she'd been doing for the past half hour and as they leaped from the roof of the neighboring building back into the parking lot they were greeted with smiles and snacks.  
Hellboy made quick to wolf down a few energy bars while Liz went up and hugged her.  
"You did amazing out there Lexy!" She congratulated.

"Thanks. But I nearly lost him for a while." She panted the exhaustion now setting in.

"Ten seconds isn't a while. And you did it on your first try too." Abe encouraged her and passed her a bottle of water which she accepted gratefully.

"Kid, your something else." Clay agreed in amazement. "I've never met anyone who could keep up with Hellboy."

"And I wasn't even going easy on her either. Your damn fast L." Hellboy nodded and addressed her with a new nickname.

"I agree." Broom said stepping forward. "Young Lexy is proving to be quite the wonder." He smiled like a proud father at her.

A look that made her feel both pride and a bit sad, she wished her own family had been here with her through this journey.

"Now," The Professor said and headed for the vans. "Let's get back to headquarters. It's nearly noon and no doubt you both have worked up an appetite." He chuckled.

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When they arrived back Lexy indulged in a large meal of steamed vegetables with a fruit and almond salad and a dessert of dairy free chocolate pudding, while Hellboy inhaled multiple plates of chicken wings and two pizzas.

Two tests down and one left to go. After lunch Abe advised her to get to sleep right away. She was going to ask why so early, when she tried to stand up and found the reason on her own. It had only been two hours since her return from chasing Hellboy and already her muscles were locking up and a deep ache was setting in.  
Hellboy nodded and told her that the only way to get rid of the 'after-mission aches' as he called them was to get a full day's sleep, and since her final test wouldn't be until the afternoon that would leave her a nice chunk of time to recover.  
Lexy did as they told but was worried she wouldn't be able to sleep, but as soon as her head touched her pillow she was out.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

* * *

Lexy awoke, not with her normal alarm clock, but with the sound of a siren and red flashing lights. She new what this meant and had been awoken many a time by the light show. It was the signal that an incident had just occurred and that the agents were to be deployed soon. She was wondering how this would affect her own exam when her locator, sitting on the bedside table, beeped.

"Lexy, it's Abe. The professor wants you in the library immediately." Came his hurried voice.

Lexy grabbed the little device. "Right, tell him I'll be right there."

Quickly she jumped out of bed, threw on some clean clothes and headed for the library.

Already the others were gathered there.  
"What's going on?" Lexy asked nervously.

"A museum break in." Abe answered already suited up for the mission.

"The Museum of Biblical Art was broken into just an hour ago. Two guards were killed and one of their pieces was destroyed before the perpetrator fled the scene." The professor continued.

"How do they know it was a paranormal incident?" Lexy asked.

"The statue destroyed was listed on one of our manuscripts. A 16th century statue was destroyed, Saint Dionysius the Aeropagite."

"Who wards off demons." Lexy nodded remembering the name from her studies.

Broom nodded approvingly. "Yes. we've secured the area and are about to send in the chosen officers for this task." He paused and looked her in the eye seriously. "Lexy I want you and Abe on this mission." Before she could say anything he continued. "We can consider this your final test since the situation is so very like what we had prepared. Besides some real life experience will be much more beneficial to you than an artificial one."

Lexy was silent then nodded. "Right sir, I'll do my very best."

Broom smiled. "I know you will Lexy, now go eat and prepare. You and Abe leave in one hour."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Abe and Lexy walked in through the back exit of the cleared out museum and headed straight for the display room. Already a team of agents were there looking and taking pictures over everything in the room. One of them waved them over.  
"Agents over here." He called.

They neared a broken display case and the broken statue that the professor had mentioned.

"We can't make heads or tails of this thing. That's why we called in the professionals. What can you tell us about it?" He said motioning to the broken stone.

Abe nodded at Lexy and let her do the actual investigating.

She leaned down for a better look. "May I touch it?" She asked knowing how some collectors were severe about that sort of thing.

The agent nodded. "Go for it, don't see how it'll damage it worse."

She carefully examined the statue looking everywhere for clues. "It's a fake, but a good one. I see how it fooled the collectors here into believing it was the original piece. Let's see, the stone is granite and holds no magical, spiritual or physiological energies itself, neither does it bear any inscribing markings or runes. Just a plain statue." She looked from the statue to shattered glass around it. "Interesting, the display case was shattered carelessly but the statue itself was sliced perfectly in half." She looked at the other half. "They were expecting it to be hollow and were after whatever was in the original piece, my guess, a demonic force I believe."

Abe mentally smiled. She was spot on what he was already told about the statue from the professor.

"Who do you think would want something like that?" The agent asked.

"Well there are many cults about who benefit from having such a force on their side, but not so many with the actual means to perform a break in like this. All the cameras show no video footage of the break in even during the time of it. I believe this statue or it's original is listed on the list of Avignon being of catholic descent. That narrows it down to those cults with deep roots in Catholicism and jewdism, deep enough to own or have access to a copy of it themselves. My top guesses are the cult of Romain Catholicism, the Haredi Burqa Sect or the Saturn death cult. They stand out above the others as being very old with deep roots in the catholic religion. They of all would benefit most from such an artifact. My personal guess is the Haredi Burqa, they have a long history with this saint."

The agent nodded. "We'll have investigative teams start looking in on them until we can identify an exact persons." He signaled the few agents remaining and headed out with them to start putting orders through.

Lexy turned to Abe nervously. "How'd I do? Do you think I'm close?"

If Abe could smile then he would have been. "You did excellent, followed all the clues perfectly, I came to the same conclusion."

Lexy smiled wide. "You really think so?" She asked with nervous excitement.

He nodded. "Most defiantly." He came forward and leaned down to the statue. "Now that you've identified the cult I can identify the individuals themselves." He removed his glove and placed a bare hand on the granite stone.

Lexy turned and began looking at the other displays. She'd always loved museums, her father used to take her to every weekend and they'd spend hours examining each one and learning everything they could about each piece. Lexy heard a gasp and before she knew what was happening Abe had suddenly grabbed her upper arm and started pulling her away.

"Lexy we have to leave now!" He said in a panic and Lexy could tell he was terrified, but of what she didn't know.

"Wait Abe, what's wrong?"

He shook his head. "No time, move!" He shouted.

Lexy wanted to know what was wrong before they abandoned the crime scene. Before she could Abe was suddenly jerked back and he yelled in pain.  
"Abe!" She shouted in concern and saw what had caused his pain. A bladed tonfa had pierced through his knee into the floor below, pinning him to the ground.  
Immediately she was at his side looking over the wound. Her basic first aid training had been advanced so she could treat many kinds of wounds. She looked over his knee and was relatively relieved that no major veins had been pierced, but the weapon still needed to be removed.  
"Abe hold still, I'm gonna pull it out." She took a hold of the weapon's handle and readied to pull.

"No Lexy you have to get out!" He shouted and tried pushing her away.

She shrugged his hand off and started to pull.

"Lexy look out!"

She turned and saw a man dressed all in black walking towards them. His face was completely covered by a gas mask and he held a bloody tonfa that was the twin of the one that had impaled her friend. He paused only to close and lock the door behind him, trapping them all inside.

Abe grabbed her arm so hard it hurt. "Lexy listen to me, you have to get out!"

"I'm not leaving you Abe." She shook her head.

The man was approaching at a leisurely pace, enjoying every second of the approach.

"Yes you are, now go!" Abe seemed almost hysterical as the masked man drew ever nearer.

The only reply Lexy gave was a quick "Get ready" before she pulled the tonfa out of his knee.

He gave a shout of pain and there a was a small gush of blue blood but Lexy had another thing to deal with. She turned, weapon in hand, to face their assailant.

The man paused, tilted his head in amusement before raising his weapon.  
There was a moment of silence before the man charged.  
Lexy didn't move, she let him come to her before countering his strike with one of her own.  
The man spun and Lexy followed his movements countering again. They soon began a quick blow by blow fight with Lexy countering each of his strikes.

Suddenly she saw an opening, he raised his tonfa to try and deliver a powerful blow and blocked his strike then kicked him hard in his chest over his heart. He backpedaled a few feet before steadying himself.  
Lexy thought it strange that he recovered so quickly. Usually a kick like that would put someone on their ass, at least for a moment, she decided it was because he was wearing armor.

"Lexy get out now!" Abe was still trying to get her to leave.

"Abe see if you can get to the door." She said back.

Abe, realizing he was getting nowhere, grabbed his locator. He clicked it on signaling an emergency and clicked on it's comn channel.  
"Professor are you there?"

The response was instantaneous. "Abe what's going on, the doors are all locked and we're not receiving anything from the other agents."

"It's kroenen!" Abe shouted frantically. "He's here and Lexy's fighting him now!"

There was cursing from the other end of the comn before Lexy heard her locator beep on.  
"Lexy this is Broom disengage immediately!" His words were anxious and rushed.

The masked man was still just standing there, waiting for her to do something.

"Abe's down sir, I'm not leaving him."

Hearing her decision the man reached up his free hand and began turning a small handle on his chest. He raised his weapon and advanced, but this time much faster.

"That was an order not a request!" The professor shouted.

She had no time to reply has she had to quickly dodge his swift strikes. Forwards, backwards, left and right she weaved between his attacks trying to find an opening. She backed herself to the wall, waited and when he went to stab at her chest, she used the wall as leverage and shot herself over his head.  
His tonfa blade impaled itself into the stone wall where it stuck firm.  
Using her opening she turned and stabbed the man in the leg trying to incapacitate him.  
When she pulled back the blade Lexy was shocked to see sand begin to pour out.  
She didn't have time to dwell on it though as he turned and drew two long daggers. Before he could make a strike Lexy spun and delivered a powerful spin kick to his head, denting the mask and shattering one of the eyes pieces.  
She jumped back in time narrowly avoiding his knives. Again she retreated and was forced into dodging and blocking again. He chased her to the opposite wall where again she used the leverage leap high and delivered her knee into his neck.  
His head flipped back and fell to the ground.  
Lexy dared to hope that was the end of it when he bent around lifting himself up backwards.

There was a sudden banging against the door, like something heavy being rammed against it.  
The man looked at the door before readying his knives and started advancing again, when their came a sort of burp of static from his person.  
The radio static subsided and the voice of a woman game through.  
"Kroenen, Die Mission ist ein Fehlschlag, Rückkehr auf einmal." The woman spoke before the radio went dead.

The man stared at her for a long moment before running recklessly at her. She readied for him to strike but he dropped and knocked her legs out from under her. The tonfa was swiped from her hands and she watched stunned, as he went back to the opposite wall, retrieved it's twin before scaling the walls, like a spider, and exiting through the roof sky light.

Lexy took a moment to catch her breathe. That fight had been one of the most intense ones in her life. Whoever that man was he was an expert in martial arts and weaponry.  
She remembered Abe, got to her feet and ran over to him. There was a small pool of blue blood below his injured leg and he was breathing heavily she guessed from both pain and a bit of shock. She tore a piece of her undershirt off and gently wrapped his wound. None of them had been expecting any sort of scuffle so they weren't carrying any sort of medical equipment.  
"Abe how ya' doing?" She asked concerned.

He stared at her in shock and kept looking at the skylight and back. "You...you should have ran."

Lexy rolled her eyes at him.

The door that was still being rammed suddenly collapsed in and Hellboy followed by Liz and several agents ran in weapons at the ready.  
"Where is he?" Hellboy was searching all around the room.

"He escaped through the skylight." She motioned upwards.

Liz jogged over to them. "Are you hurt."

"I'm fine but Abe's knee is hurt pretty bad."

Hellboy stared at her momentarily before pressing his locator. "Father, Kroenen escaped onto the roof, Lexy and Abe are still alive."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The group was rushed back to headquarters and Abe was sent to the medical ward. Lexy had wanted to go with him but the professor had forbade it. For a good while he chewed her out about not following his direct orders and putting herself in terrible risk. She tried to explain that she wouldn't, couldn't leave Abe behind but that did nothing to soften his words or tone. After a good twenty minutes of angry yelling he sent her to her quarters and she and told her she was not allowed out until he called for her.

That was where she was now, sitting on her bed cross legged and lost in thought. It had been three hours since the professor had dismissed her to her room and every second she had become more frightened. Not of the professor himself, he was a gentle man at heart and appalled violence, but fear of failing her test. She was afraid that her three years of hard work had all been wiped away in a single night, that she would be sent away from the only life and family she had known since Seattle. She was terrified and thought perhaps if she could better explain to the professor about her decision after he had cooled off maybe he'd understand. But she also knew that if she disobeyed another order and left her room then all would be for naught. So she waited and waited, eventually her fear subsided to fatigue.  
The whole night had been exhausting all she wanted to do was sleep, though she didn't dare in case the professor sent for her.

After another fifteen minutes added to the three hours that had already past there came a knock at the door.  
Lexy felt a shallow fear in her stomach, afraid that it was the professor, or worse an agent coming to tell her to start packing her bags.

"Come in." She said though her voice was hallow. She was rather shocked to see Abe come limping in. His injured knee had been bandaged and he was leaning on a crutch. Aside from that he seemed perfectly fine and had changed out of his mission suit. Immediately her fear subsided, the look in his eyes told her she wasn't leaving, not tonight at least.  
"How's your knee?" She asked patting the spot next to her on the bed.

Abe nodded and gratefully sat down with a tired sigh. "Well it's not completely broken, though I believe that's thanks to you." He paused and laid a hand on hers. She felt the psychic connection like a static shock and retrieved a bit of feedback from the link herself.  
He was feeling a mix of things. Irritated that she didn't escape at the museum when she had the chance, but also a great sense of gratefulness and loyalty that she wouldn't abandon him. And fear both for her life and towards the masked man.

Their's was a unique bond, usually when near a person he could sense their emotions and intentions, even memories almost instantaneously. But not Lexy, well at first he could, but as she learned more about psychics she began developing a mental block that not even he could break through. Though she could raise and lower it at will, it was quite strong and Abe thought she might have some untapped psychic abilities herself. Like when she touched his hand and got a read of him, though she couldn't do this unless his own block was down and not with anyone else, he had to initiate the link.

"This is the second time you've saved my life Lexy." He laughed awkwardly.

She nodded, still remembering the night of the Hodag like it was yesterday.  
"So what's gonna happen to me?" She didn't like putting such a question on her friend but the suspense was eating her alive.

Abe reached for his crutch and tried to stand, Lexy moved to help him to his feet.  
"Well that's why I'm here to get you. The professor wants to speak with you, they're all waiting in the library."

"Right." She said slightly dismayed and plainly frightened.

"Don't worry, it's not to bad. He only wants to talk about your fight tonight." Abe didn't tell her that the professor was also going to be giving her her badge that night, he figured it would be a nice surprise.

"Well then, let's go."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

They entered the library and Lexy was surprised to see that when Abe had said 'they' he was referring to Hellboy and Liz and not Manning and Broom like she had expected, though the professor was present.

When they reached the fireplace where everybody was standing Abe left her side to join the other two agents while she remained in front of the professor.  
The elder man stared at her for a long moment before shaking his head in disbelief.  
"I don't know how you did it." Was all he said.

Lexy waited anxiously for a moment before she asked. "Sir?" Wanting desperately an answer.

"Do you know who that man was that you fought tonight in the museum?" He looked at her seriously.

She shook her head. "At first I assumed him to be apart of the cult that had originally destroyed the statue, but now I'm not so sure."

Broom raised an eyebrow. "You shouldn't be so quick to second guess yourself. Your half right. He is apart of the cult that had wanted the statue, but the wrong cult and he was their leader."

"Karl Ruprecht Kroenen, head of the Thule Society, a group of German aristocrats obsessed with the occult and leader of project Ragna Rok in Nazi Germany in October 1944." Hellboy answered.

Lexy went through her mental database and tried to remember where she knew the date from.

But the professor beat her to it. "The year Hellboy was 'born'. Kroenen is also one of the most skilled assassins in the world. He was Hitler's personal assassin. Meaning that he's killed more people than you could hope to meet in your life."

Lexy was rather shocked to hear this and Broom nodded as realization was dawning on her.

"How you managed to fight him to a stand still with only one weapon is far beyond me." He said solemnly and she realized that he had expected her to die that night.

"And survive without so much as a scratch." Hellboy whistled in appreciation. "Your damn skilled kid."

"Damn lucky is more like it." Liz said heatedly like she couldn't decide between anger or joy.

Broom nodded. "She's right. All kidding aside your very lucky to be alive, both of you." He glanced at Abe as well. "I'd consider it nothing short of a miracle. Now as for punishment for your foolish actions,"

Lexy swallowed hard, this was what she'd been fearing.

"You will be helping Hellboy clean the barracks for a week. And agent Tanner I don't want another altercation like this again, am I clear?"

Hellboy groaned at hearing about his still standing punishment from two weeks ago.

Lexy was about to say 'yes sir' when she realized what he said. He'd said 'agent Tanner'. She stared at him for a long moment.

After a few seconds the professor's stony features melted away into a proud smile.

She looked to her friends who were smiling as well.

Broom stepped forward and put out his hand and took hers.  
"Welcome to the B.P.R.D field agent Tanner."

When she pulled away she felt something smooth and cool in the palm of her hand. Lexy looked, it was a shining gold badge. She turned it over and there was her name and status printed perfectly.

For a while she didn't know what to do, she kept looking from the badge to her friends. She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around the professor in a huge hug. She still wasn't sure if she was going to cry or not but for now she was just happy to be right where she was. After the initial shock wore off the professor smiled fatherly at her and gently hugged back.  
Finally Lexy let go, a wide smile plastered on her features.

The professor chuckled glad to see her confidence rise. "Now I'm heading off to bed and I suggest you do the same soon. The barracks aren't going to clean themselves tomorrow morning."

Hellboy groaned again then nodded.

The professor exited the room leaving the four friends to themselves.

Liz came up and gave Lexy a great big hug. "Congrats Lexy." Liz's smile as big as Lexy's. "You scored perfectly on every test."

Hellboy came up and put his arm around her and Liz in a half hug. "You did it kid, your one of us now."

"I owe everything to you guys. I couldn't have made it this far without all of you."

Her words were nothing compared to her inward feelings. Joy, excitement, pride, thankfulness, but more than anything a sense of belonging. Three years ago she'd been orphaned, left with no one and no where to go. But the B.P.R.D. welcomed her and made her apart of their family. Now after everything she belonged somewhere.  
She looked to Abe who had come over though was standing a foot away. Lexy managed to get loose from the others grip and she pulled the Ichthyo Sapien into a warm hug. She didn't need to explain how she felt in words, in a moment he felt everything. Her love and loyalty to every one of them at the bureau and now her fierce commitment to protect them as they protected her.

He did his version of a smile, his face tightening slightly and his mouth barely parting.

They separated and Hellboy ruffled her hair in the way he often did and the way that he knew annoyed her.  
"Well pops is right Lex, those barracks take all day to clean, plus you've had a long day. Fightin' off assassins and what not." He smiled smartly.

Liz nodded. "You should both get some rest." She looked to Abe as well. "Your knee needs to heal and you're gonna be up at the crack of dawn with Red scrubbing down the barracks."

Red groaned. "Do you have to remind me?"

"Think of it this way Red, at least you have help now." Abe joked.

They headed out as a group except Abe who headed or his tank in the room. One by they splintered off to their own rooms.


End file.
